Toward More Authentic Assessment Procedures For Ells

By Author: Jordon
Total Articles: 91
Comment this article

The most accurate and valid information about all student progress comes from assessments that are designed by teachers and are connected to the actual instruction that is occurring in the classroom. However, a large number of teachers report that they feel that they are unprepared to assess ELLs (Fradd and Lee). This is problematic; as we have discussed in prior columns, the ELL Cartier Replica population is a rapidly growing group, and English classrooms without ELLs will be the exception rather than the norm in the coming years.

There are ways that English teachers can assess their language learner students in the classroom
Assessing ELLs in mainstream English classrooms can be a challenge, but there are ways that English teachers can move toward a more accurate way of learning about their ELLs.

that will provide valuable information about what these students know, what their interests and motivations are, what they are capable of doing, and what types of instructional strategies and content must be integrated to ensure that they are ...
... "getting it." To this end, one thing that English teachers can focus on is performance-based measures of ELLs on authentic tasks that offer a variety of ways that ELLs can show they are mastering the content. In recent work on assessment for ELLs, Gott?lieb discusses how performance-based assessments can provide teachers with information about both language and content mastery. The key to successful performance-based assessment lies in Gottlieb's extended metaphor of a bridge that connects classroom activities with real-world activities and language to content. Performance-based assessment gives English teachers a variety of sources from which to obtain information about their ELL students and can provide a complete picture of what these students know, how they interpret the material, and what they are capable of doing. This picture is much richer than traditional assessment measures. According to Lorraine Valdez Pierce, effective and well-developed performance-based assessments accomplish the following:

1.Use meaningful, naturalistic, context-embedded tasks through hands-on or collaborative activities.
2.Show what students know and can do through a variety of assessment tasks.
3.Support the language and cognitive needs of ELLs.
4.Allow for flexibility in meeting individual needs.
5.Use criterion-referenced assessment for judging student work.
6.Provide feedback to students on strengths and weaknesses.
7.Generate descriptive information that can guide instruction.
8.Provide information for teaching and learning that results in improved student performance

Traditional classroom assessments, like standardized tests, are dependant on language and may provide little to no information on ELLs' understanding of concepts. ELLs do well when evaluated using a variety of innovative performance-based assessments because there are embedded opportunities for them to show what they know in ways that match their current linguistic development in English. In addition, performance-based assessment includes visible criteria. In other words, teachers share with students the criteria that they will be evaluated on, their expectations for student work, examples of student-generated products that fall into all levels of the grading range, as well as scoring rubrics, checklists (to be sure all necessary elements are included), and questions that ask students to reflect on the project. Asking students to assess their performance through reflective writing or discussion is also Cartier Replica Watches an essential element of performance-based assessments. Peer feedback can also be included in the assessment process. When managed well (clear ground rules, specific guidelines), peer feed-back can motivate learners and pro-vide extended opportunities for ELLs to engage in discussion using the academic language essential to success in the English classroom, therefore building critical cognitive academic language in an authentic setting. The ELLs' motivation can be enhanced, their self-confidence increased, and their sense of connection to their mainstream peers developed through well-constructed peer-feedback opportunities.

These explicit terms allow ELLs to make sense of the project, see finished products to use as models, and reflect on their performance on a given assignment, which provides valuable information for teachers. Richard J. Stiggins discusses how such clear statements of expectations on the part of teachers and how sharing all criteria and examples of past student work increase the likelihood of student success.